As a Life & Motivation Coach, I work with clients to bring out the best in them, to unleash their potential so that they can live the life they truly deserve. Some clients simply need guidance with clarity and life direction, others need a little more help when they find themselves in seemingly negative situations. My life is generally exceptionally rewarding and fulfilling. I have 3 beautiful children, a wonderful husband and a career that I am incredibly passionate about. My life however, hasn’t always been plain sailing and unknown to many; I’ve had my fair share of down times. Four years ago, I was working both as a life and motivation coach and fitness instructor when I began experiencing hip pain after teaching fitness classes. Each time I visited a GP, I was told it was simply a pulled muscle. Then, after one particular class, the pain became so severe that I drove myself to A & E and asked for help. I was X-rayed immediately and told there and then that I had hip dysplasia and would need a major surgery. I remember leaving the hospital in shock, sitting in my car in the car park and sobbing uncontrollably, the thought of stopping my fitness classes just too much to bear. After the initial shock, I decided to look at the situation in a more positive light. I decided to make plans for whilst I was recovering. Just one week after the peri acetabular osteotomy, (a 9 hour operation which involved my hip being broken into 3 pieces and re-pinned) whilst still sat in my wheelchair and a 100 miles from home, I began a very intense course in Neuro Linguistic Programming. I stayed for 3 nights in a small log cabin, at the top of a very icy hill and relied on others on the course with me to come and help me to the course venue every morning, and take me back in the evenings. The course continued for 6 months, for 3 days a month and each time I found it physically easier to manage. By the time the course came to an end, I could “walk normally” and unaided. It was then that I was able to appreciate just how much I had achieved thanks to my “year out” from the fitness industry, and what it had allowed me to do and become. Being diagnosed with hip dysplasia initially felt like I had come to the end of the road with my fitness career, but given a little time I realised that when I opened my eyes, there were heaps of other roads I could take. I learnt that when we are faced with difficulty, we have a choice. We can choose to let it keep us down and focus on all that is wrong OR we can utilise the force of the blow, so that it gives us energy to move in other directions. Sometimes the very worst thing that happens to us can actually turn out to be one of the very best things. I recall the final day of my NLP course, being in floods of tears because many of my colleagues had pulled me aside to tell me that I was an incredible inspiration and I realised what I had achieved. I used my new knowledge to expand my coaching practice and help many more people deal with adversity in their lives. A year later, I also returned to teaching fitness classes’ part- time. But, when five months ago, at the age of 38, I had to return to hospital, this time to undergo a full hip replacement, I once again found myself having to find a new way of teaching fitness. I had been told that following a hip replacement, returning to teach high impact fitness classes would not be a good idea.As I type this, I sit in a hotel room as tomorrow I am going on a course that will enable me to teach the older active participant, low impact classes suitable for those who want a less intense work-out. Instead of focusing on what I can’t do anymore, I decided to ask myself “what can I do instead?” And in true “Maria Hocking style”, (can’t wait!!!) classes start next week. Finally, I could also tell you how 14 yrs ago; I lost all my hair on my head and my body and was diagnosed with alopecia after the birth of my second child and wore a wig for 11 years whilst instructing fitness classes.I could also tell you about the year I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and the opportunity it gave me to discover holistic therapies that led to my recovery. I could tell you how much I learnt the following year when I qualified as a holistic massage therapist and reflexologist. I really could just go on typing forever but by now I think you get the drift. If, as you read this you find yourself reflecting back on difficult times in your life, ask yourself this; “What did I learn from that time and how has it helped me?”.If you find yourself in a seemingly negative place right now, believe that this is happening for a reason, and challenge yourself to move forwards and find that reason. If right now, you cannot see even so much as a tiny ray of light, look more closely because it’s there, waiting for you, and sometimes it’s hidden where you least expect to find it ...Until next timeMaria x(www.mariahocking.com)